Apple quality control inspection by Clarifruit

There are more than 100 types of apples grown for commercial sale in the United States alone, and dozens of variations in terms of size, color, shape, and taste. Think about the difference between a Red Delicious apple and a Granny Smith, and you’ll begin to realize how much variation there can be! But all of these variations have one thing in common – the need for a consistent standard when it comes to quality control. 

Apples can change in quality dramatically from the point they are being harvested from the trees in an orchard, to when they arrive on the supermarket shelves. Adding a consistent and foolproof way to measure quality control at the important points of the supply chain is a clear win for everyone, and helps prevent and reduce lengthy price renegotiations or waste that could have been avoided. 

Although apples seem like a robust fruit, they actually require more pesticides than any other fruit, and it can be tough to grow certain types organically. This is because the seeds of an apple don’t naturally grow the same way as the fruit they came from. This is why a green apple’s seeds can grow into a tree of red apples, for example. In order to keep a specific crop going, growers need to cut off a branch from the original tree, and clone it by planting the branch itself!